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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Upgrading to 2009

I splurged and bought on iTouch after seeing a friend use one at the CF workshop.

I have never wanted an iPhone because (and this might sound odd), but I like my phone to be separate. Mostly so I can just take it on walks and I don't always like to have my email/life/world with me. Plus I drop my phone a lot.

But seeing my friend with this item seemed useful. Another friend had a iPhone, also uselful, but as I said, I don't like my phone connected to anything but my phone.

The only thing the iTouch could use is a camera, but otherwise it's taking the place of my PalmPilot (yes, I still use a PalmPilot) which I upgraded from a Franklin-Covey Planner (the big paper thing) not to long ago, which took the place of years of a daytimer (also paper). I love paper planners though, but they are so bulky to carry, just ask my husband as I was always tossing mine is his backpack.

I am not a techie or like new gizmos. And maybe this isn't even new, I had no idea these existed until last weekend. But it stores my calendar in it and that's fantastic, plus all my NPR podcasts, which I can choose by title (I only have an iPod shuffle, so I had to keep hitting forward to find the show I wanted.)

Here's a fact about me, I've never downloaded a song on iTunes, only free podcasts. I really despise paying for music. Even as a child I was the one holding the tape recorder up to the AM radio. Plus, and maybe this is just me being cheap, but 99 cents seems a lot for a song. I think songs should be 25 cents. I'd purchase songs for a quarter.

But I actually like my podcasts, my Fresh Air with Terry Gross, my Vinyl Cafe, my New Letters on the Air... I enjoy listening to podcasts when I clean the house or go for a long walk.

What sold me on this is iTouch was getting a new calendar, and that you don't pay any service and you just use the free-floating wi-fi around you.

The year I went to Southern California with my family, I didn't bring my laptop and we found ourselves in the hotel wishing we had it because we were trying to find out how we could out of the area because of all the wildfires around us and the roads were closing down. California news is horrible and even worse is how they call the same highway 5 different names. Had I had this little device, I would have been set. Instead I remember the anxiety trying to determine if all of 101 was closed by Malibu or if we needed to take I-5 and what part of I-5 was closed.

The only application I've downloaded is Googlecalendar & NPR Addict (free app). I will not be putting Facebook on this or probably much else, but I did add some photos of family and friends.

I've got my calendar entered and while I still really don't have any idea what I'm doing and probably missing most of the features because I so behind in the times, I'm quite impressed with this technology and it really amazes what something that fits in the size of your hand can do. There is a part of me that feels like 007. Actually all of me does.